ALIEF ISD finance team outlines budget pressures, school-funding shortfalls and pending state bills

ALIEF ISD officials told the board on March 18 that multiple state funding allotments do not cover the district’s actual costs and that pending state legislation could materially affect the district’s fiscal outlook.

Emily Littlefield, chief financial officer, led a presentation on Texas school funding mechanics and district budget development. Littlefield said the district uses 2023–24 final data as the basis for current allotment calculations and reminded trustees that the district must adopt a balanced budget by law in August.

On specific allotments, Littlefield said the district’s transportation allotment for 2023–24 was “almost $2.8 million” while the actual cost of transportation was about $24 million. She summarized that transportation reimbursement largely covers miles traveled for students’ to-and-from-school trips and does not include extracurricular mileage, and she said ALIEF faces a shortfall on transportation “on the order of $21.3 million.”

Littlefield reported the safety allotment at about $1,031,610 and said the district spends roughly $8.1 million on safety and policing, leaving a shortfall she described as approximately $7 million. She noted…